


Don't Pretend (I Think You Know I'm Damn Precious)

by merzie



Series: Baby, You're Like Lightning In A Bottle [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-31 00:37:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8555785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merzie/pseuds/merzie
Summary: Words: 11kRating: pg-13Don’t pretend I think you know I’m damn preciousBaekhyun is sure Kris secretly likes him and it drives him crazy that Kris hasn’t confessed to him yet (but it’s not like he expects him to. Baekhyun likes girls, right? Right?) Baekhyun daringly bets his friends that he can make Kris confess to him by the end of the year. In his persuit he does a lot of things to attempt to drive the presumably tall gay man crazy. The question is, does Kris even like boys?I can tell you like me too and you know I’m right





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Krisbaek exchange. Be sure to check out this round and give lots of love to all participants ~ 
> 
>  
> 
> A.N.- Title inspired by Girlfriend- Avril Lavigne because i can totally see Baek serenading Kris with that.  
> I have edited the story a bit so it might be very slightly different from what's posted in the exchange.  
> Don't forget to spread the krisbaek love~

It can’t be helped. At least that is what Baekhyun thinks to himself; attempting to justify the reason why his eyes are glued to the swish swash movements of Jinri’s pleated skirt and not to the book lying wide open in front of him. To his left Jongdae is droning on about Objects or Functions or something, Baekhyun only managed to catch a few words of what he was going on about…for the past hour. Baekhyun nods to himself after checking the time on his phone. Chanyeol was supposed to come rescue him half an hour ago, under the pretext of buying a birthday gift for his sister. It was always their pact. It was what solidified their brotherhood. And now Chanyeol has broken that trust. 

He pockets his phone with a heavy sigh that gets cut off by a knock to his head, courtesy of Jongdae. 

This time around Baekhyun manages to listen to a whole five minutes about different data structures, even managing to highlight a few lines of his notes with his precious blue highlighter, before his attention was caught by soft high pitched laughter. Baekhyun’s eyes betray him yet again and follow the sound to see Amber and Sunyoung walking away from him. He really doesn’t mean to stare, really, but the sway of Sunyoung’s hips, the curve of her back and oh the bump of her ass has got him hypnotized. What? Baekhyun likes good-looking butts; he prides himself on having an amazing one. 

He snaps out of his reverie when the girls walk two tables past the one he is sitting at and his eyes land on Kris. The dreamy smile he sported is immediately replaced with an unconscious frown. Kris is with Lu Han and that kid from his Computer Design class who looks like he never gets enough sleep. He squints in Lu Han’s direction. Lu Han is too pretty. 

“Baekhyun-ah, you’re staring again. Kris is already hot enough as it is, maybe the heat of your glare will melt him down into a puddle. I’m certain the janitor wouldn’t appreciate that.” 

Junmyeon is in no position to say that, Baekhyun thinks, and says so, “Hyung, I wasn’t looking at him. I was just following your gaze to Lu Han.” Junmyeon flushed at getting caught.

Ah.  
Lu Han and Junmyeon. Junmyeon and Lu Han. It all started back in freshman year, three years ago. Junmyeon was gushing to his best friend from childhood, Kim Jongdae, and the pretty guy who attached himself onto Junmyeon and refused to let go during orientation, Byun Baekhyun, about this ‘really, really, REALLY pretty noona’. He was star struck, THAT was inevitable. Lu noona was pretty, funny and smart, and so, so kind to juniors like them. Or at least she looked like it from across the hall, Junmyeon explained; he didn’t really have the kind of steely nerves to go up to her and talk. And that is where pretty, little Byun Baekhyun came to play. Junmyeon had found out the hard way, that Baekhyun is stronger than what his appearance gives away (Baekhyun all but shoved Junmyeon forward); in fact these words were quite literally his exact thoughts as he went barreling into Lu noona, and taking both of them down. Park Chanyeol, Lu Han’s self appointed body guard, heaved him off and set him aside before rushing to help noona up. Junmyeon probably was hurling colorful expletives at Baekhyun in his head, Baekhyun thinks so even now. And Junmyeon, being himself, colored a violent shade of red and apologized just as violently at Lu noona’s general direction. The soft, MANLY voice that rushed to assure him “No, no, everything’s alright. No harm done.” certainly took all of them by surprise. Junmyeon was awed by Lu noona, but he was absolutely smitten with Lu Han hyung. Baekhyun had thought Junmyeon couldn’t turn any more red than he was then, but apparently, it was one of the few occasions he had been proven wrong. 

“As flattering as it is to use my voice as the soundtrack while you check out your schoolgirl crushes, I must leave.”

Oh well. Jongdae always managed to snap them out of any reverie they get stuck in. 

Lu Han looked away from his friends exactly then, probably sensing the weight of three pairs of eyes on him. He fixed all of them with a quizzical stare and slowly raised his hand to give them a slight wave. The three of them smiled back as innocently as they could; innocent, perhaps, convincing, not even by a mile. It was only when Junmyeon used his smile, the kind that was all rainbows and sunshine and pixie dust, did Lu Han smile back enthusiastically and everyone stop with their awkward staring match. Only Baekhyun’s eyes noticed the pink spreading across both their cheeks. He looked back at Lu Han again, only to look at Kris directly in the eye. Baekhyun had always been better at hiding the color in his cheeks, unlike Lu Han and Junmyeon.

 

-

 

Concentration had never been Baekhyun’s forte. He could focus on something only if he feels that it is worth his attention. So one fine day, while zoning out during a study session with Chanyeol, Jongdae and Junmyeon, Kris Wu, Wu Yifan, Kevin Wu.., Duizhang? Or whatever name he preferred, caught his attention. Kris was looking at him, and had been looking at him for a while now, Baekhyun was sure. He looked away suddenly when his eyes met Baekhyun’s. That marked the beginning of many fleeting glances by both parties. Baekhyun always made sure to stare extra hard, to figure Kris out. So far he could only make out this: Kris looked troubled and he wasn’t sure why, or Kris was trying to hold in a particularly loud sneeze by looking at him. Baekhyun was sure it was the former. After all, Baekhyun is rarely wrong. After that Kris is a presence that was ever present on his radar. Baekhyun’s mind came to one other conclusion: Kris likes him. Surely, it can be nothing else. Like he said once to Jongdae, “I always know when someone likes someone, it’s my superpower.” 

-

 

That weekend found the four friends crowded on Chanyeol’s small couch for their weekly movie night. After the Great Disaster of last week, they decided against horror movie night. Escorting Chanyeol everywhere, especially the bathroom was not something anyone wanted to experience ever again. That is also how we found the four friends watching Cardcaptor Sakura with varied levels of interest. There was Junmyeon who was sitting on the floor, so engrossed in the way Sakura was taming each card, leaning towards the television, running his fingers though Chanyeol’s hair while the other boy was almost purring with contentment. Jongdae was in the middle of tearing up a tissue into tiny pieces and “making it snow” on Baekhyun when the latter could not take it anymore.

“I think Kris likes me!”

Toya is staring at him incredulously from the T.V screen; the single beat of silence seems to last an eternity and Baekhyun can’t find it in himself to laugh it off as a joke.

“Okay. I’ll take the bait” Jongdae sighed. “What makes you say that, Baek?” 

“My superior spidey senses, and the fact that I always catch him looking at me. Also, he is always around us. Don’t tell me you guys haven’t ever noticed that”

“Does he even like guys? I haven’t heard of him dating anyone, girl or boy.” Chanyeol chipped in, no longer lying on Junmyeon’s lap.

“Ah.” Baekhyun raised on elegant finger. “See, that is because he likes me, for quite some time now actually. He just hasn’t confessed yet.” 

“Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself, Baek? Wait! Is that why you’re always staring at him?” Baekhyun does not know why Junmyeon looks so surprised when he really isn’t, deep down…somewhere, really deep...

“I was just trying to provide him an opportunity to confess so that we can all move on!”

Everyone looks as unconvinced as Baekhyun feels with his statement.

“Hmm. Okay, how about this? If Baek is actually right, Junmyeon hyung should ask Lu Han hyung out. I mean think about it, if he is right, then Baekhyun can move on and both of you hyungs can stop sending each other heart eyes all the time. In case he is wrong, then we get to remind him of this moment for the rest of his life." Jongdae finishes this by flashing a smile that was so smug that Bakehyun wanted to hit him with a pillow. And that was how Chanyeol is short of one throw pillow on his couch. 

Baekhyun isn't sure (lies!) how it happened but he goes to bed that night with a sole purpose in mind: Make Kris Wu confess his undying love for Baekhyun. It won't be that difficult right?

Unless he was wrong...but that can't be possible. How can he make sure that Kris likes him?  
Baekhyun knows of the whole ‘ Nothing good happens after 2 am’, but that is so easy to ignore when one is sleep deprived and restless to make people confess. Baekhyun’s half asleep mind happily supplied him with the solution to his worries: The internet. It was a vast ocean full of answers and all Baekhyun had to do was fish it out.

And that’s what he did after abandoning all thoughts of getting some sleep. He felt a little silly typing in "how to know if a guy likes you" into the search bar- Chanyeol would never let him forget this if he comes to know of this, good thing he won’t. 

 

Ooo. How to Know if a Guy Likes You (with Pictures). This must be good. 

 

Opening up the page, he was going through all the steps. He still felt silly, but he pushed it aside and focused on getting his task done. He needs to make sure Kris likes him.

1\. Examine his body language. How is Baekhyun supposed to do that when the taller male is too scared to come and talk to him? Blah blah blah. Oh! He looks at you a lot. Ha!Baekhyun is on the right track after all!

2\. Notice his eye contact. As already noted, a guy who is interested in you will look at you a lot, even if covertly. He may try to catch your eye or, if he's shy, he may suddenly turn his head away if you catch him checking you out. Baekhyun’s glee is on the verge of exploding! Kris does like him! But why was he so happy about it? Oh yeah, he gets to prove to those three derps that he was right, as always. Nothing else. 

3\. Listen to what he is saying. Well, that does it. He needs to go and talk to Kris. For research purposes. Right.

4\. Notice his interest in touching and being touched. 

5.Watch his actions to see if he treats you differently from the rest of your group.

6\. Watch for him showing a sudden, previously unexpressed interest in things that you like and do. Baekhyun groans and repeatedly slams his forehead on the table. Why did he never talk to Kris?  
7\. Check signs of nervousness. Kris always looks skittish around him. Ah...so he was nervous. Baekhyun nods his head understandingly. 

None of the other steps are applicable in his current situation.

If he is doing this, then he needs to do it the right way. He needs a game plan. Well, this will be easy. He digs out a notebook and scribbles at the back page in the prettiest handwriting he can manage. 

STEP 1: Establish contact.  
STEP 2: Make sure he likes you. (for Jongdae’s sake)  
STEP 3: Confession time!!!!! 

By the time Baekhyun goes to bed it’s already 6 am, but hey, at least he can sleep peacefully now. He just need to set his plan into motion the next day, it’ll be easy peasy lemon squeezy.

-

 

Step 1: Establishing contact.

Baekhyun woke up after 6 hours of restless sleep, alight with a burning passion to prove his friends wrong. He needs to talk to Kris today itself. But it’s a Sunday and Kris lives off campus (Baekhyun just knows okay, it’s one of those ‘don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answers to’ sort of thing…or something like that), so there is no chance of running into each other. 

Unless…Jongdae throws a party at his place. After all what is college life if you don’t have any parties, right? And Jongdae does have a pretty decent place next to their campus, right? And he has been mentioning he wants to see Lu Han and Junmyeon together (“The endless pining has to stop! Hopefully, you might be able to be charming enough to get Kris to fall for you!” Baekhyun is very charming, Jongdae doesn’t know that.). Besides, Jongdae is close enough to Lu Han, so he will have to invite him. And Lu Han will obviously come because Junmyeon will come, and Junmyeon will come because Lu Han will come. Also, Lu Han and Kris are always together, so he will tag along, right? Right?

Baekhyun briefly wonders how his life got so complicated.

 

Planning out the whole evening was way easier than bringing it into action, Baekhyun realizes. Convincing Jongdae into throwing a party involved plenty of food and alcohol, along with making an unexpected dent in his savings. But hey, Baekhyun managed to sneak two sips (unseen by Jongdae) of the very pricey beer and one piece of fried chicken (also taken away while Jongdae was not looking) that he had to pay for. He could only comfort himself thinking that it will be worth it in the end.

It really is for the best after all, and as someone who has studied probability for a whole semester he is sure that there is only 40% chance that this will fail. Also, he is an outgoing person, he won a prize in kindergarten for being friendly; talking with Kris would not be a problem. He is a go-getter, exactly like how he is going after Kris Wu. He isn’t going after Kris Wu or anything, do not misunderstand, all Baekhyun wants to do is help the poor guy. Baekhyun also got a prize in second grade for being helpful. 

Unfortunately for Baekhyun, he had never won any prizes for planning things. Getting Jongdae drunk in the morning was his first wrong move. A drunken Jongdae is as useless as that gym membership Baekhyun took God-knows-when. Also unfortunately for him, he was never that good in his probability classes. Standing there, looking at Kris and Lu Han from across Jongdae’s living room, Baekhyun thinks the probability of him succeeding is a solid 40%. His professor must be crying happy tears since he finally is right. (Probably.)

His luck turns for the worse when Chanyeol drapes a long arm around his shoulder, herding both him and a piteous looking Junmyeon in the direction where Baekhyun had last spotted Kris. This night was definitely not working out for him.

Baekhyun winces as Chanyeol practically pushes Junmyeon into Lu Han’s arm (Lu Han is stronger than he looks. And also not a light weight. He’s had four glasses of beer by now –Baekhyun had counted- and he’s still got pretty good reflexes. Baekhyun might approve of him. He could perhaps take care of Junmyeon).

“Hey you.” Lu Han is beaming at Junmyeon, and Junmyeon is doing the same, albeit a little shy due the sudden proximity of his crush. 

It looks like a scene right out of a drama and Baekhyun wants to cry because that was supposed to be him and Kris tonight. 

“Hey Baekhyun” Lu Han finally set his half-moon eyes on him (while setting his hands around Junmyeon’s waist. Baekhyun is only slightly miffed that his best friend allows Lu Han to hug him while Baekhyun is pushed away)

“Hey Lu Han. Kris” Baekhyun nods at the latter. The only response he gets is a lazy smile, that soft around the edges and Baekhyun is quite unfortunately mesmerized by that. Snapping out of it fast, he smirks at the shy couple-to-be (“They would have been a couple by now if they had the fucking balls to confess to each other”-Park Chanyeol)

“Be careful, Jun’s never really been able to handle liquor well. Last time we had him do shots, he started stripping. It was quite the sight. Scarred my eyes though; but you wouldn’t mind that would you?” Baekhyun teased. 

The flush spreading across their faces while denying at the same time was enough of an answer.

“Lu Han can only handle a maximum of five cups of beer. He turns red and giggly after that. I might have a video of that in my phone if you’re interested.” Kris’s eyes are mischievous as speaks up from Baekhyun’s side. He could have sworn Chanyeol was there a moment ago.

Perhaps, Kris isn’t as socially awkward as Baekhyun might have believed him to be. Conversation flows easily between them; bantering with Lu Han and Junmyeon, and then by themselves too after a while-Lu Han had to take a tipsy Junmyeon back home.

Perhaps this won’t be that difficult, Baekhyun thinks while lying in bed after getting a Good Night text from Kris. He falls asleep with a smile playing on his lips.

-

 

Except that it still is difficult to get Kris to confess. Especially when it does not like he’s in- forget love, at least in like with Baekhyun.

It has been two weeks since his relationship with Kris progressed, but it still limited to random texts and making small talk while running into each other.  
Baekhyun once again turns to his trusted friend (of course it’s the internet, why would anyone ever think otherwise?). He searches for how to know if a shy guy likes you. But Kris isn’t all that shy. Baekhyun established that fact when Kris slung an arm over him while standing around and teasing Lu Han the other day. He was really warm, but so was Baekhyun’s ex-girlfriend and she had a heart made entirely of ice. 

He sighs and clicks on the first search result he sees.

1\. Don’t ask him outright if he likes you. Baekhyun snorts at that. He has more tact that that. Besides Baekhyun’s not the one for confrontations, they make his hands sweaty and his heart race.

2\. Don’t ask his friends if he likes you. So no cornering Lu Han about it then. Oh well.

3\. Compare his behavior towards you with his behavior towards others. He acts exceptionally nice and friendly to everyone but him. Now Baekhyun isn’t that intimidating. He’s harmless. Except that he’s got a sharp tongue and he bites. Well, only those he likes…

He skips through the rest of the stuff. All the articles say the same anyways. And he refuses to try the final step listed in the article.  
(4. If all else fails, ask him out yourself.)

Grumbling under his breath, he moves on to typing into the search bar again; Baekhyun knows Kris likes him! He need not waste his time checking online if Kris likes him. He keys in how to get a guy to admit he likes you, instead.

1\. Make sure he is not committed to anyone else. Hmm. It’s research time.

Baekhyun makes sure to buy banana milk as a bribe for Lu Han along with his lunch the next day and promptly sits down where Lu Han is sitting with that sleepy kid. He knew Kris has to practice for the upcoming game. (He only knows this because Chanyeol’s there is the Basketball team with Kris. Baekhyun did not stalk him and find his schedule.)

 

Sleepy kid’s eye light up on seeing banana milk while Lu Han eyes it with slight disgust. Well, oops. Lu Han does not like banana milk. He’ll be sure to inform Junmyeon about that.

“Baekhyun, this is Jongin. Jongin, Baekhyun” Lu Han waves his hands to and fro. He has pretty hands too. Baekhyun gives up trying to find a flaw in him. Junmyeon’s got taste in men.

“We share a class together, hyung.” Sleepy, no, Jongin says. Baekhyun decides he’s too cute (like a puppy!) and shall be referred to as ‘Sleepy’ in his mind.

“Yeah, hyung. You should pay attention to your friends and not just Junmyeon” it definitely is fun to tease Lu Han.

Lu Han sniffs and says nothing.

“So, when are you planning on asking him out? I need to question your intentions for my best friend before that.” He jokes. Or at least he hopes it comes across as a joke. Junmyeon doesn’t need to know Baekhyun is capable of having feelings.

“My intentions for your best friend are totally innocent and pure!” Lu Han squawks indignantly. 

“I’ll let Junmyeon know he won’t be getting any action then” Jongin smiles serenely. Baekhyun thinks he found a new best friend. Park Chanyeol doesn’t have to know he’s been replaced. That smug bastard knows Baekhyun loves him. 

(Somewhere in the campus Chanyeol loses control of the ball and it falls on an unsuspecting Kris’s face. Kyungsoo hadn’t come to see his game; the ominous chill down his spine was perplexing.)

“The only one not getting any is your cousin! He hasn’t been laid since forever!” Lu Han defends himself.

Jongin’s cousin? Baekhyun feels a little lost.

“Don’t talk about my Kris hyung like that!” Well, well, well. He is single. Perfect. 

Baekhyun suppresses his creepy smile as much as he could (not much) and launches off to start a conversation on why they all need to get laid. Jongin was very agreeable. Baekhyun really likes Jongin now.

2\. Find out his position on dating and relationships.

Baekhyun walks into the library and his eye immediately close in on Kris sitting by himself. There are three thick books lying open in front of him, yet he’s on his phone. Maybe Baekhyun and Kris are alike.

Kris looks up from his phone and looks right into his eyes. Baekhyun thinks it’s like one of the scenes from a drama (finally) where the hero and heroine lock eyes and the world around them stops for a while. Not that it stopped for Baekhyun. It went really fast. How else can he explain why it feels like he ran a marathon? And then Kris goes ahead and smiles at him and bam! His heart is beating too slowly. 

Acting as nonchalant as he could, he takes a seat beside Kris. 

“What are you reading? Wait, no. What are you not reading?” Baekhyun asks innocently while leaning over to peek at his books. It’s Art History. Booringgg. 

“Hey! I see you do the same all the time too!” Kris laughs, the soft puffs of his breath blowing a few strands of his hair onto his ears. Baekhyun realizes with a start that they’re sitting really close together. He forgets to focus on the fact that Kris just admitted to looking at him always.

“You try studying with Jongdae, you’ll understand!” 

“Why aren’t they here with you? You seem to be glued to Jongdae’s hip always.” Baekhyun misses yet another opportunity to ask Kris about looking at him since his mind was busy conjuring images of the words that left his mouth. 

“Disturbing.” Baekhyun mumbles and shakes his head and goes back to leaning into his own chair. While Kris looks on at him amusedly. 

“Jongdae is busy serenading some girl in the choir room. I ran out before having to witness anything that might want to make me gauge my eyes out. Chanyeol is busy doing what Chanyeol does. And Junmyeon’s having a study date with Lu Han. Took them long enough.”

“Hey, I can assure you Lu Han is a nice guy. You’ve always seemed a little overprotective of him,” Kris trailed off uncertainly.

“Junmeyon’s a big softie. We’re all like that with him.” Baekhyun said sheepishly. He thinks Baekhyun is overprotective? Wow, he’s in for it when he sees how Chanyeol really acts around Junmyeon.

Kris lets out a large yawn and looks at his books disdainfully. Why did he never talk to Kris?

“You gonna study?” Kris looks at him with sleepy eyes and Baekhyun can only nod. He’s always had a thing for cute things. And it’s not his fault that Kris was being all sorts of cute as far as he’s concerned.

“Great! I know the perfect place to go to!” Kris beams at him “That is if you would like to come with…”

“I’d love to!” The ‘Libraries aren’t my style anyway.’ Gets stuck in his throat when Kris reaches down for his bag and his shirt rides up a bit, showing a glimpse of pale skin. Huh. That’s an interesting reaction. Baekhyun thinks to himself.

They end up walking two blocks to the café, Paper Hearts, where Jongdae works at. 

“They make the most amazing cheese cake!” Kris gushes as he opens the door for him. It’s true; they do have the best cheese cakes.

Kris gives their order while Baekhyun snags a table for themselves. He’s always here to annoy Jongdae and he’s never run into Kris. Not even once.

“I come here as much as I can. Lu Han showed me the place back in our senior year in high school.” 

That’s the first real piece of information he’s getting, and Baekhyun likes getting to know Kris Wu. They might have been best friends too. If only he did not have to break the poor guys heart.

-

 

The “coffee date”, as Chanyeol labeled it, proved to be useless. They talked absolutely nothing about dating and relationships, except for mention how Lu Han must really man up and confess to Junmyeon (Baekhyun couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the irony of that).All Baekhyun knows is that Kris is single. Does he even like boys? Or girls? Or anything for that matter? See? Useless. Perhaps not completely. He did get to know Kris better, and perhaps that’s one step closer to his goal: getting Kris to admit he likes him. Shy guys wouldn’t confess just like that. That’s why he’s trying to get closer to Kris, he justifies himself saying this. 

3\. Keep your time with him light and fun.

The coffee not-date turned into more coffee not-dates and going to the games and sometimes even watching the practice games. 

(Baekhyun met Chanyeol’s most avid fan Kyungsoo. Explaining to Kyungsoo that he came for Kris and not Chanyeol was tiring. Kyungsoo knows judo. Baekhyun found out the hard way.)  
-

He had always laugh a little extra for all the dumb jokes Kris makes, and Kris always indulged him on every whim and fancy he sprouts on Kris. 

That is the reason why Baekhyun finds himself glaring at Kris to give him the ball. Kris is smiling down at him, looking very smug, while keeping the ball out of his reach. Now, Baekhyun isn’t that short, yet here he is peering up at Kris through his lashes hoping that the taller boy will melt.

He brought it upon himself, to be honest. He was the one who suggested they should try having a friendly match. It’s Kris, Chanyeol and Lu Han against Baekhyun, Junmyeon and Jongin. Jongdae had refused to play, saying he'd rather not embarrass himself. Yet here he is, to the side in a cheerleader's costume-armed with pompoms and jumping round, purposely swishing his short skirt. Oh well.

Thankfully Jongin snatches the ball out of Kris’s hands and that seems to get time moving once again.

Kris reaches out and ruffles his hair and Baekhyun pretends to not see the affection in his eyes. It’s getting too hot and he can’t wait to get a shower. His eyes trail after the ball (which is once again in Kris’s hands.)

 

It’s always easier to pretend there are no feelings lying hidden anywhere.

-

 

The game ended with Baekhyun’s team losing (none of them are surprised). 

He’s wiping his sweat away with a towel when he sees Kris make his way towards him, water bottle in both hands. 

“Losers treat! I want fried chicken!” Trust Park Chanyeol to disrupt whatever might have happened between him and Kris.

Chanyeol and Jongin are bottomless pits, as much as he loves them both he’d rather them not eat while he’s paying. In fact he can already see his money flying away from him. 

“Hey. It’s on me. Don’t mind him. And don’t even think of backing out” Kris nudges him with a shoulder. He’s drenched; hair sticking down to his forehead and his skin is flushed from the exertion of a good game. The pounding of his heart reminds Baekhyun of why he started talking to Kris.

He’s still so far away from the end of his mission.

Baekhyun always know when someone likes someone, and now he’s worried.

 

-

 

The game plan remains forgotten; stuck on the wall above his study table, and Baekhyun learns to enjoy being around Kris and his friends. 

If all else fails, he can console himself by telling he gained amazing friends from this endeavor.

Baekhyun is now the person Kris seeks out when they all meet up, and also his preferred study companion (They actually manage to study during their time together. Baekhyun is amazed at himself). And Baekhyun slowly opens himself up for Kris. It is not an easy task, but Baekhyun has always appreciated a good challenge.

All goes smooth sailing until one day Jongdae discovers a little piece of paper sticking up from one of Kris’s note books.

“This is a bunch of numbers.” Jongdae states looking confused.

“Yes, a bunch of numbers that makes up a phone number.” Kris says, swiftly reaching out to pluck the paper out of Jongdae’s grasp.

“Young Sehunnie seems to be quite smitten with you, Krissy.” Lu Han teased. 

Baekhyun feels his heart skip a beat or two.

“He’s not…smitten” Kris insists, trying his best to sound blasé. It would have worked if it weren’t for the tip of his ears turning red.

“You never indulge any of your possible suitors! You like him too?!”

Needless to say, Baekhyun tunes out of the rest of the conversation.

-

 

Sehun, Oh Sehun. Even Baekhyun has heard about him. He is the pride and glory of the Dance Department. He had a lithe body and a gorgeous face. Baekhyun can see the appeal. It also does not help his case that Sehun is humble and shy. He tutors helpless students and he’s got good grades to boast about, not that he boasts about anything. 

Baekhyun still hasn’t gotten Kris to confess to him. And now to add to his woes, he seems to have competition. Splendid. He thinks dryly.


	2. Part 2

Baekhyun needs to revisit his game plan and make minor changes here and there, he can gather that much. He wasted far too much time waiting to make sure Kris likes him, and even allowing Kris to take his own sweet time to approach him.

He pulls the paper stuck on his wall with a little too much force (and worries if he had damaged it) and sets down to revising the steps.

STEP 1: Establish contact.

STEP 2: Make sure he likes you. (for Jongdae’s sake)

STEP 3: Confession time!!!!!

Step 2.1: Flirt!

 

-

 

“Why are you wearing shades in class? Hangover?” Jongdae is scrutinizing him with a frown.

Baekhyun barely got any sleep last night. He kept on dreaming of Jongdae dressed in a flowy bridesmaid dress catching the bouquet at Kris and Sehun’s wedding.

He was there too. As Jongdae’s plus one. Nursing a glass of hard whiskey in his hands and staring ahead forlornly. He’s still not over it. Why would he dream of Jongdae in a dress?

“Uugghhhhhhhh,” he groaned and proceeded to plant his face on the table. He’s in his Software Architecture class and he doesn’t think he has the strength to last to the end of this hour.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” Jongdae is grumbling under his breath, and Baekhyun is certain he heard something about dresses. He doesn’t have the heart or courage to ask him to repeat.

“Oh. We’re going out tonight. You’re coming too, you know.” 

“Kris will be there too.” Jongdae adds when Baekhyun had responded with yet another groan.

“What time?” Baekhyun hopes he doesn’t sound as out of breath as he think he sounds. The smug look on Jongdae’s face tells him otherwise.

“8. And doll up for your Prince Charming.” 

Baekhyun doesn’t manage to get a word in before the Professor starts his lecture. He is too tired for this.

 

-

 

It’s 7:30 pm and Baekhyun is still pulling out all the clothes he owns into a messy pile. He’s been at it ever since 5 pm and he could pull his hair out now. 

Why is he getting so stressed over this? He was always laid back, this is not him. It’s not even a date! Not that he is planning on going on a date with Kris. As if the other would ever ask him out, he thinks petulantly.

He gets startled by the banging on his door, and makes a run for it. His door is fragile, just waiting for the right moment to fall off its hinges perhaps; and he has friends who do not understand the situation.

It’s Chanyeol and Jongdae. Chanyeol gives him a onceover and whistles. He is still dressed in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

“We really should have just let Kris pick you up like he wanted to. You would have impressed the pants off of him and voila! Junmyeon and Lu Han will get together.”

Baekhyun can only roll his eyes as he steps aside and makes his way to his room.

“Wow! Why does your room look like it’s been mugged? Or got caught in a tornado?”

“I was just…fine. I was figuring out what to wear. You asked me to ‘doll up’.” Great. He’s now admitted that to the two people on earth who should not know about it. 

“Ooo~ Kris and Baekhyun sitting on a tree! K I S S-” Chanyeol gets cut off by a pair of boxers thrown at his head. He should be glad that it’s not from the dirty laundry pile.

“Chanyeol be more mature. Our little boy is finally dressing to impress other little boys.” Jongdae wipes an imaginary tear from his eyes.

“Okay. Now let’s get you pretty.” 

Jongdae is messing up the heap of clothes even more, and Baekhyun feels slightly bad that his clothes are getting even more wrinkled up.

“Hah! Found it!”

Baekhyun hardly had the time to react before something is thrown at him.

It’s his black ripped jeans that make his legs look real good. Why hadn’t he thought of that? 

“Hurry! The others have set out” Chanyeol issues a warning. He’s smiling too widely at his phone. Baekhyun ignores that in favor of pulling on the jeans (it’s quite the task considering how tight it hugs his thighs) and settles on grabbing a black t-shirt from the pile and pulling it down his head. He lines his eyes lightly with kohl and hand-combs his hair. Yup. He looks amazing. Kris won’t know what hit him.

The restaurant they decided upon, AB Style was a brisk five minute walk away from the campus. They had amazing food and had reasonable prices. And the hot pot was the most delicious one Baekhyun’s ever tasted. Just…don’t tell his mother that. Besides, the owner –Heechul- was kinda cute.

They walk-ran all the way, not having accounted it being cold that night.  
“They already got a table.” Chanyeol informs.

Heechul gives them a warm smile on spotting them, but all Baekhyun could think of was all the possible ways he could flirt with Kris. 

Naturally, the only seat left was a spot beside Kris. His friends were looking far too innocent for this to be a coincidence. At least Kris is great company.

Now Baekhyun has this little secret. He would rather kill himself than admit it to anyone, including himself. He likes getting Kris flustered and shy. The rosy tinge that colors his cheeks makes Baekhyuns chest warm. It’s like seeing a particularly adorable puppy. 

“Oh look! We match!” Baekhyun makes sure to catch the taller boys’ eyes while he smiles. There it is, the blush that Baekhyun just thought of. 

But it is true. They’re both dressed in all black. Baekhyun tries not to think of how good Kris’s legs would look. He’s always been jealous of them.

Flirt with your body, Baek, flirt with your body. He repeats this over and over in his head.

He waits for the perfect time before starting. Kris is rambling on about something that happened in his class today. Their knees are touching under the table, and it feels really warm. Anytime is as good as now, he thinks, and proceeds to wrap his lips around his straw very slowly. He chances a glance at Kris while taking a sip, even making a show of hollowing out his cheeks. Baekhyun is proud for making Kris trail off and forget what he was talking about. So proud of himself that he forgot to not breathe. He ends up choking on a bobba. Not in an attractive way either.

“Oh my god! Are you okay? Will you be okay?” Kris rests a warm palm on his back and Baekhyun tries to focus on the concern in his voice instead. 

“A-Okay!” He chokes out. His eyes are watery and Chanyeol is clapping like a seal and laughing at him. But it’s fine though. He got a reaction out of Kris.

He doesn’t try to eat sexily like he had originally planned. He likes his trachea unobstructed, thank you very much.

 

After a rather noisy dinner, the group decides to leave before Heechul kicks them out (which won’t happen. Heechul has a soft corner for them they know that, he knows that, even the staff knows that.) 

Baekhyun mentally scolds himself for forgetting his coat. He’s just a few cold breezes away from shivering like a leaf.

“You shouldn’t have forgotten your coat.” Kris is pouting at him. Why is Kris pouting? The only one who should be pouting right now is Baekhyun because he’s the only one out on the street that doesn’t have a coat. Trust him, he looked around. 

“I realized.” Baekhyun fixed him with a pointed glare. 

“Come on. I’ll drive you back. Sitting with the heater on for a bit might help.” Kris is already saying goodbyes on their behalf and steering him towards the parking lot, large palms on his shoulder. Baekhyun wouldn’t have objected even if he could open his mouth. 

The warmth of his hands is soothing. Baekhyun ducks and sticks himself to Kris’s side before he over thinks it. Kris was not expecting that, if the way his eyes widened a bit is any indication of it. He even misses a step and clings onto Baekhyun for balance. 

Unfortunately for the two of them, Baekhyun was never good at that. He apologizes on his part as they’re both falling. He was lucky to have a soft landing. Kris…not so much. 

He’s lying on top of Kris, face snuggled into his chest, feeling warm and content. It feels just like another scene out of a drama (Baekhyun hasn’t been keeping scores but if anyone were to ask him he has had 3 and Junmyeon has had just one. Really, he isn’t keeping score.)

He isn’t sure of how long the moment lasts but he’s now all warmed up and alarmed at the lack of movement from the body underneath his. 

“Please, please don’t be dead. I don’t know how to drive you to the hospital.” 

“Too late. I have joined the ranks of the departed.” Kris sticks his tongue out, to be ‘deader’.

Baekhyun smacks him on the chest and hauls them both up.

“You were heavy.” Kris complains lightheartedly while turning on the engine and Baekhyun punches him on the thigh wholeheartedly. 

The drive would have been a really short one if Baekhyun hadn’t goaded Kris into driving him around. They don’t talk much and silence settles around them. Only the noises of other cars on the roads can be heard. Baekhyun hasn’t felt this peaceful in ages.

He is seated angled towards Kris, watching him drive with an ease Baekhyun wants himself to possess someday. 

“Take a picture it’ll last longer.” Kris side eyes him.

Baekhyun promptly whips out his phone and takes a picture. Kris looked good. The yellow glow of the street lights falling on his cheeks, and reflecting off of his blond hair. Baekhyun might even use the term ethereal to describe Kris. Might. 

Kris looks at him surprised that he actually took a photo, and the sound of another click goes off. Kris looks softer in this picture. His eyes are a little wide and the fullness of his cheeks can be seen. Baekhyun isn’t sure which one his favorite is. 

(Baekhyun manages to take two more photos before Kris reaches out for his phone, almost swerving out of the road- Kris with and unimpressed look and Kris opening his mouth to call out Baekhyuns name.)

 

-

 

Flirting with Kris won’t take anything further than getting him flustered, he realized. As delightful as Baekhyun finds it to be, he needs to move things along.

Kris also seems very dense. Baekhyun notes as he’s watching Sehun flirt with Kris. Sehun is being painfully cute and Kris is being painfully unaware of his intentions. It’s getting annoying to watch so Baekhyun turned around and left.

Or at least, he walked two steps forward before Kris is calling out his name.

“Where were you going? I thought we were getting lunch together.”

“Oh. I thought I forgot something in class. Never mind, I’ll look for it tomorrow. It’s not like they’re going to clean the room today or anything.” The smile he is rewarded with sets ablaze his determination to get Kris to like him.

Baekhyun knows that he’s being selfish, mean if he’s tagging along Kris just to reject him. But he can’t help but want Kris’s attention to be showered on him.

But if Kris does like Sehun…Baekhyun knows how to back off. No one gets hurt and no feelings get trampled on…right? 

Baekhyun isn’t sure.

But none of this deters him from reviewing his game plan that night. It’s been almost eight months since the bet started, and he had almost forgotten about the bet. Jongdae will probably remind him about this for every day for the rest of his life. He might even get it written on his grave. “Here lies Byun Baekhyun. He thought Kris Wu had a crush on him. Lmao, amiright XD?” 

Baekhyun resolves to up his flirting game.

 

-

 

Baekhyun finds Kris in the courtyard the next day. He plants his butt to his right, making himself comfortable on the concrete bench Kris was sitting on and gives him a huge grin. The Oh-don’t-mind-me-I’m-not-up-to-any-good grin, which makes his lips looks rectangular as Chanyeol had once helpfully (not) pointed out.

Kris looks at him funny and goes back to reading his book. 

Okay. Baekhyun wasn’t expecting Kris to fawn over him or anything but he could do more than just look. Like saying a “hi” perhaps.

“Why. aren’t. you. minding. me?” He accentuates each word with a poke to the other boys cheek. It looked very soft and he couldn’t help it. He’s sticking his lips out in a big pout and he hopes Kris gets tempted to look at him.

Kris grabs hold of the finger and brings it down to rest on the table next to his books. He still hasn’t let go. Baekhyun stares at the obvious difference in the size of their hands with awe.

“Hey. Do you know you have really large hands?” Baekhyun proceeds to take the hand linked to his and examine it. His hands aren’t as pretty as Baekhyuns, yet they are. It looks strong, and spotless too if it weren’t for the smeared ink on his thumb.

Someone clears their throat in front of them and the moment is broken. (Baekhyun felt the Kris’s eyes on him for a while)

They turn their heads to see Sehun standing there looking out of place.

“Um…Hyung asked me to meet up here.” He says, shooting a shy smile towards Baekhyun. How can Baekhyun resent this adorable being?

“Oh! Sehunnie, I forgot. Why don’t you take a seat? Baekhyun this is Sehun, I’m tutoring him and Sehun this is my Baek- uh- this is Baekhyun.” 

Sehun smiles at him fully, rather than the closed off one he gave earlier and Baekhyun feels his jaw hit the floor. How can anyone be this cute? Baekhyun himself is cute and for him to acknowledge Sehun, he’s super cute okay! It’s a big deal!

He slowly lets go of Kris’s hand, it felt strangely empty and light without the weight of his hand but it would be weird to hold hands in front of Kris’s potential boyfriend. That is if Kris likes him.

“I’m a fan, really.” Baekhyun isn’t lying. He’s seen Sehun dance and he had a rather embarrassing fanboy moment.

Sehun colors and ducks chin into the top of the scarf he’s wearing.

“Thank you. I’ve heard a lot about you. Only good things!”

Baekhyun can feel Kris looking at him worriedly, bottom lip between his teeth. And Baekhyun gets it. He’s worried Baekhyun likes Sehun. Fine. That’s his cue to leave.

“Well, it’s nice meeting you. But I need to run and rescue Chanyeol from Jongdae. We’ll run into each other in the future.” Baekhyun says looking at his watch. He smiles towards Sehun and leaves without even glancing at Kris.

He starts off a short sprint to the library and rescues Chanyeol from Jongdae and his study session. And he hurries back to his room.

His phone buzzes in his pocket signaling an incoming message.

From Kris Derp  
Why’d you leave so soon? Is Chanyeol rescued? 

Baekhyun sighs and hits the reply button.

From Baekhyuneee  
Baekhyun the protector has rescued Chanyeol the fair maiden! \\(^o^)/

It’s always easier to pretend there nothing wrong. Especially when nothing is wrong.

 

-

 

It’s nine months since the bet started and Baekhyun is tempted to call it off. 

He spent a lot of time thinking about it and he’s come to a decision: he won’t continue with the game plan. Not when…not when Kris and Sehun like each other.

He has been brushing off every offer to hang out with Kris, citing different excuses each time ( “My mom wanted to Skype. It’s my dogs’ birthday and I miss him.” “I’ve got this HUGE test this week and Junmyeon has prohibited me from stepping out.” )

Baekhyun was nursing a can of diet Coke in his hands while sitting at the same spot he last met with Kris, staring ahead forlornly. 

“Hi Baekhyun-sshi” He hears a soft voice. Sehun. Baekhyun wants to cry at his luck.

“Hello Sehun. Looking for Kris?” 

“No, I was just walking around. Getting some air. Spending all your time cooped up in the studio or the room does little good for your health.” Sehun sits beside him and leans back onto the table.

“Want some?” Baekhyun thrusts the can underneath Sehuns elegant nose.

Sehun eyes it suspiciously and Baekhyun can’t help but laugh.

“Oh live a little!” He winks at Sehun. When he sees Sehun’s unimpressed expression, he nudges him. “It’s just Coke. I don’t sport the brooding guy with a glass of whiskey look until its past 7 pm.”

Sehun takes the bottle and takes a sip, finally convinced that it’s not alcohol.

“Why would you sport the brooding guy look? I already see it way too much on Kris hyung these days. I swear he’s really dramatic, he should switch his major.”

“Kris is being broody? Why?” Well, Kris should be feeling peachy. He gets to be with Sehun all the time now that Baekhyun has freed him of hanging out with him. Baekhyun can’t help the frown that takes over his face. He’s never liked being replaced.

“I don’t know.” Baekhyun isn’t sure if he is imagining that tiny smile on Sehuns face. “Jongin tells me Kris looks sullen always these days. So it isn’t just me.”

“Wait, you know Jongin too?” Sehun sure knows a lot of seniors by the look of it.

“Well, I am kinda sorta dating him…” Sehun is smiling that shy smile again and Baekhyun has never felt this much relief flood through his system.

He could hug Sehun but then he knows Jongin wouldn’t like it so he keeps his hands to himself.

“Hm. Maybe I need to go pay Kris a visit. Brooding guy look would be hilarious on Kris…” Baekhyun can’t stop smiling. Why can’t he stop smiling? He doesn’t want to look like one of those creepy clowns.

“I’ll be off too, then. Jongin and I are having a movie date later on. Good bye Baekhyun-sshi.”

“Hyung. Sehunnie should call me Baekhyun hyung” Baekhyun smiles at him sincerely. Sehun’s shy “goodbye then hyung” was worth it.

He quickly grabs his phone from his pocket and sends a text to Kris.

From Baekhyuneee  
Where are you? I’m finally free and we need to celebrate!!!!!!! 

The immediate reply makes him smile.

From Kris derp  
Class ends in 5 mins. Meet u outside? 

Baekhyun speed walks as fast as he can to Kris’s class. He really can’t deny it, he missed Kris and his dumb jokes.

 

-

 

Baekhyun is lying on the bed with a tummy full of pizza (extra cheesy) and texting Kris.

(Kris had thought Baekhyun liked Sehun, so he was giving them some ‘space’. Baekhyun had laughed so hard that he was crying. Stupid Kris, he had sniffled.)

All possible ‘likings’ and ‘disliking’ were accounted for and cleared up. Well except for Baekhyun liking Kris. No! Kris liking Baekhyun!! His mind was very susceptible to brain farts when thinking of something else. (He had even called Chanyeol “Daddy” accidentally while reading this one really hot manhwa.) 

And now that he has a green light (what? Kris doesn’t seem to like anyone else) he decides to go all in.

He snatches the piece of paper he originally wrote the game plan in from his night table. It’s got a few wrinkles from the night he spent clutching it, and eventually falling asleep, and thinking about Kris and Sehun.

Maybe he needs to make just a few more modifications.

STEP 1: Establish contact.  
STEP 2: Make sure he likes you. (for Jongdae’s sake)  
STEP 3: Confession time!!!!!  
Step 2.1: Flirt!  
Step 2.2: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang?

Baekhyun loved watching Sleeping Beauty all the time when he was a child. He still goes back to watching it on days he feels a little under weather. The concept of true loves kiss had always made his knees weak.

But with Kris a kiss is highly recommended. It might finally speed things up. Finally. (He only has two more months before the time he is allowed ends.)

 

-

 

Baekhyun gets Chanyeol to help him carry out his new game plan. (This also made quite the hole in his wallet. He had to pay for both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol for a ‘dinner-grabbing-movie…thing’ he wasn’t even invited to. Baekhyun loves things!)

All Chanyeol had to do was create opportunities for Kris to kiss Baekhyun. Simple, right? Oh he wishes.

Baekhyun blames himself for watching too many dramas and rom-coms after hearing his own plan.

And it was going to be carried out as soon as Kris walks out of that classroom door.

Baekhyun glares at his watch, willing time to move faster. (He needed to get back home and do laundry. He was not a slob, contrary to popular belief. )

Chanyeol is standing tall and stiff right beside him, looking very serious-like he has been given the task of completing the hardest quest.

Oh! It’s three! He will get out in three…

Two...

…Two and three quarters…

…Two and half…

…

Two and one quarterrrrrr-THREE!

Mission KKBB: launched into action. 

Now, the plan is easy and straightforward. Baekhyun expect a 60% favorable outcome (maybe he finally learnt probability in the past ten months.)

Chanyeol was supposed to walk up to Kris, and Baekhyun was to stay behind. Chanyeol would walk Kris to him and “accidentally stick out a foot” and Kris would fall on Baekhyun and their lips would meet in an innocent kiss.

(Drama moments: Baekhyun-4 Junmyeon-1)

But Baekhyun forgot to give allowance for errors. He watches in horror as Chanyeol trips Kris a bit too early. He can see it all happen so slowly. The distance between Kris’s body and the floor keeps diminishing and it’s too late for Baekhyun to step out of his way.

Baekhyun hears his phone clattering on the floor with a heavy thud and he swears he hears a slo-mo “my bad” from Chanyeol. He cannot remember anything other than the blinding pain as Kris’s forehead collided with his nose.

His phone is now decorated with a crack from the left bottom all the way to the top right corner; but Kris has a matching one on his phone too.

(Drama moments: Baekhyun-3 Junmyeon-1. At least he’s still leading, and this is still not keeping scores.)

His nose hurt for a week, but that’s okay, he got a real good whiff of Kris’s perfume before his nose stopped working. He must ask him which brand it is, it smelled really nice.

 

-

 

Chanyeol doesn’t appear in Baekhyun’s line of sight for two days before he throws all caution to the wind and runs to hug Baekhyun.

“I’VE GOT THE MOST AMAZING OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU!!!!”Chanyeol was never the person who cared for indoor voices. Voices are voices.

Baekhyun peels him away from his body one appendage at a time. He wants to be pissed at Chanyeol. His baby (his phone) was injured (cracked) because of that big bad wolf (Chanyeol). But his curiosity gets the better of him. He raises an eyebrow. There, Chanyeol won’t get any words spoken to him. Baekhyun feels good about taking his revenge. He can understand the appeal of being a super villain.

“Dude. Jinri’s throwing a party at her place tonight and I heard Kris is going. You know, perfect opportunity.” Chanyeol winks, and Baekhyun does not understand.

“Alcohol~~ Come on, Baek. He’s totally going to kiss you if he’s drunk.” Baekhyun is slightly miffed that sober Kris wont kiss him.

 

-

 

Armed with the tightest pants he could find and a crisp white shirt on he heads to the party. He looks hot if he may say so himself. And that is him being modest.

He walks in and wow. He didn’t expect these many people to be here. Jinri stays in a big apartment that’s also near their campus. Living far away was too much trouble for all of them. The Professors found it fun to drag their students back to class whenever they could.

He waves at his friends before diving into the throng of people to find Kris. It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult! Kris was a head taller than most people here and Baekhyun doesn’t think it possible for him to miss the soft blond hair. 

Kris finds him before he finds Kris.

Kris is in a baby blue button down and a pair of black jeans that hugs his legs just right. Baekhyun whistles at him. 

“Looking good, Wu.”

“Oh you know me, I dress to impress.”

“So those photos of you in those atrocious pants were photoshopped?”

Kris just smiled and handed him a cup of some fruity punch. 

Baekhyun empties the contents and finishes it in two large gulps. The pleasant burn from the vodka gets high mood higher. He raises an eyebrow, challenging Kris to do the same. And the other tips back the contents in his glass and smirks. Challenge accepted.

Baekhyun takes the role of supplying alcohol to the two of them; the fruit punch was abandoned some while ago, now it’s just plain vodka.

Baekhyun is guilty of switching out his drink with water occasionally without Kris knowing, it won’t be of any help if they’re both piss drunk.

A one bottle of vodka later Kris is drunk.

Drunk kisses are still kisses right? Baekhyun tries to justify himself so that he won’t feel bad. He takes a deep breath and takes hold of Kris’s wrist and guides them to an empty couch.

Kris better remember the kiss if it ever does happen. Baekhyun doesn’t go around kissing boys.

“Hey. Remember when you thought I liked Sehun?” Baekhyun tests the waters. Kris looks befuddled.

“Oh yeah! Silly Kris!” Kris is now giggling at himself. Baekhyun can deal with where this is going.

“So, what about you? Got anyone you like?” Byun Baekhyun will poke and prod until he gets the answer he is looking for!

“Oh yeah! I do!!!!” Kris is now laughing about something that only he knows about. He then launches into a long list starting from the gold fish he had back in middle school to Lu Han.

“OH! And my Mom! God! My Mom’s the first on the list!” He exclaims suddenly, scaring Baekhyun into spilling water on his pants inadvertently.

Baekhyun would have kissed him right there and then because of how cute he was being. But he doesn’t. That would be taking advantage of a drunken, smiley Kris and that would not sit well with Baekhyun’s conscience. And also. Baekhyun has not gone around kissing boys till now.

 

-

 

His next venture involving Kris and alcohol does not proceed as planned. (Baekhyun has stopped being surprised at his failures minor setbacks.)

There are no parties involved this time. It was just the 7 of them in Baekhyuns room- Jongin and Sehun were out on a date. It was a lazy Saturday evening and they made the most out of it. By playing spin the bottle of course. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo had promised him that if the bottle ever turns towards either Kris or Baekhyun they would dare the person to kiss the other. 

Baekhyun and Kris do get turns plenty of times, but Chanyeol and Kyungsoo are doing God-knows-what in the kitchen and Baekhyun can hear a lot of giggling. He isn’t sure if he wants to find out.

Sehun and Jongin came back to join them with plenty of beer and then the game got out of hand. Jongdae is now in a dinosaur onesie (where did that even come from? And where does Jongdae get all these costumes?!), grinding the floor. Junmyeon had tackled him to the floor and is now sitting on top of Jongdaes tailbutt.

Chanyeol and Jongdae have always been good at keeping the drinks flowing and Baekhyun is very good at emptying them. Unfortunately for him, drunk Baekhyun always means a sleepy and extremely clingy Baekhyun.

He hadn’t even intended to get drunk. All he wanted to do was kiss Kris, and that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen.

He climbs onto the couch where Kris is sitting alone. Baekhyun thinks he said “Kiss me” but for all he knows Kris might have heard that as “Kill me” and falls asleep on him. Literally. He faceplanted into Kris’s lap, resulting in a very flustered and helpless Kris. 

Chanyeol carried him to his bedroom like a newly wedded couple. There is a video of it. Baekhyun swears on Jongdae’s name that he will find all the videos and delete it someday.

 

-

 

The rest of his attempts to be kissed range from silly to a level where he questions his own sanity. But then again Baekhyun does take time every Sunday morning to ponder about the meaning of life and about him.

There was this one time he wore Apple flavored lip gloss (irresistible!!!) before meeting up with Kris. He couldn’t take his eyes off of his lips, but it turns out that he hates apple with a passion. (“My Mom baked way too many apple pies one day. And I ate it all. Seven large pies. Not a single bit of it left. Haven’t been able to be around apples ever since.” Kris recalls unhappily.)

There was this other time he goes around singing Kiss the Girl in hopes of Kris getting all his subtle hints. Kris proceeded to sing along and then started to talk about how sad the original version of the story is. They ended up having to watch Finding Nemo to cheer themselves up. (Baekhyun might have shed a few tears that night reading the original version of The Little Mermaid.)

The latest attempt was today while Kris was walking Baekhyun to his Computer Organization class. Baekhyun was trying to think of possible ways to get a kiss and his mind suggested the best possible suggestion (only secondary to consulting the internet for the confession problem) that it could ever suggest: Kiss Kris and tell him it was because he needed the lip balm. (He was watching Friends last night, yes. He would have done the same thing too, Ross.)

Baekhyun looks up at Kris through his lashes and blinks prettily. 

“My lips are so chapped. Do you have lip balm?” Baekhyun is standing right in front of Kris, leaving very little space between their bodies. 

Baekhyun is amazed at their height difference. If Baekhyun gets on his tip toes his nose would be at the same level as that of Kris’s lips. Baekhyun had always found kisses on the nose extremely affectionate and adorable. His eyes move from Kris’s lips and have now settled on his brown eyes. Baekhyun doesn’t know what to decipher from the look Kris is giving him, but it looks an awful lot similar to the look that started all of this in the first place. 

Kris shoves a Chapstick under his nose and he falls back onto his heels. 

Everything around them halts for a moment, the only sound he can hear is his heart too loud in his chest and the blood rushing to color his cheeks and ears.

The moment is broken when Kris reaches out to ruffle his hair and smile at him.

“Don’t use up all your aegyo on me. I’m weak to cute things!” Kris pouts at him and Baekhyun wonders who the cute one really is, right now.

 

-

 

It’s a Sunday, and Baekhyun is up at 9 am looking out of his window. It’s time for his Sunday ritual. 

He has been feeling restless all night. Restless ever since Kris gave him that look again.   
Why was he so adamant about making Kris confess to him? Baekhyun has never found pleasure in turning down people who like him. He has always found it difficult to let the down and not hurt them. And he plans on rejecting Kris. Why? 

Baekhyun had always gone after slim waists and soft skin. It was his default setting. His mother used to tell him stories about how he used to woo the elder ladies just by smiling at them when he was a toddler. 

But somewhere along the way Baekhyun had also started noticing defined muscles and hard lines. It was sometime in high school, he thinks. His heart skipped a beat when he saw his best friend at that time smile at him.

Baekhyun never let his eyes stray from the curvy figures he was expected to like, instead. 

And then came along Kris Wu, demanding Baekhyun’s attention because how can anyone possibly ignore the perfection he is.

Strong chiseled jaws, strong eyebrows, strong looking hands and a strong gaze. That was what caught Baekhyun’s attention to be honest. He had noticed Kris way before Kris started looking at him.

Four months ago he had considered playing hard to put a little distance between the two of them so that he won’t be too disappointed when Kris won’t confess. He can admit that. He would feel disappointed.

Baekhyun always knows when someone likes someone. And this time, it might be Byun Baekhyun who has fallen for Kris Wu. He is surprised to find that he isn’t too alarmed by this realization, maybe some part of him had always known.

 

-

 

It’s always easier to hide feelings- pretend it’s not there. But, it may be time to stop pretending. He needs to talk to Kris soon.  
STEP 1: Establish contact.  
STEP 2: Make sure he likes you. (for Jongdae’s sake)  
STEP 3: Confession time!!!!!  
Step 2.1: Flirt!  
Step 2.2: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang?  
Step 3: Confession time.

 

-

 

Baekhyun is very close to punching Kris. Kris understands that. It’s evident from the way the younger boy is glaring holes into him. Did he forget anything? Did Baekhyun get a new haircut? Is there a button which he could press that would stop Baekhyun from looking at him as if he ran over Baekhyun’s cat? Kris is feeling very helpless and all he wants to do is to see the boy sitting in front of him smile that angelic smile again.

They are sitting in the café Kris took him out the first time. Baekhyun is watching Kris through narrowed eyes. Kris looks like he’s going to sprout wings and fly away; fidgeting in his seat, dropping the spoon he was stirring his coffee with on the floor.

Baekhyun likes making Kris sweat. It seems to be a very enjoyable pastime.

“Hey.” Kris jolts up to look at him.

“Did I read this wrong the entire time? We could forget this conversation ever happened if so then but…” Baekhyun chews on his lower lip. There, Kris is looking at him like that again. He takes a deep breath to steady his erratic heartbeat.

“I- I’ve always seen you looking at me and you...near proximity and the internet was like-” He heaves a sigh. “You like me.” 

It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. Baekhyun hopes with all his heart he isn’t wrong.

He wasn’t expecting the sheepish smile Kris sends his way. Oh great. He’s going to say no. Baekhyun’s mind is racing as fast as his heart, thinking up a million different ways how this could end, and none of them are in his favor. 

“About that…Lu Han was the one dragging me around everywhere you guys went…to see Junmyeon. His crush on Junmyeon is actually way bigger than all of you think it is. And…” Kris is trailing off, and Baekhyun feels like he’s going to faint. That would be better than rejection. He hopes Kris would go easy on him. He winces and looks down at his Tea.

“I don’t know if you know this, probably not. But, Jongdae knows that’s you never pay attention to him during your study sessions.” Okay. Did he tune out of the conversation in between? Baekhyun feels very lost.

“He puts these little pieces of paper on your head each time you zone out. But Junmyeon blows them away though. I’ve always wanted to say that ever since the first time I saw it, but I wasn’t sure how to? I’m not exactly the kind to go and talk to strangers. Well at least now you know!” Kris finishes. His hand is playing with the short strands of hair on the back of his head. He smiles apologetically and looks at Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun doesn’t know what to feel. He can certainly feel all the disappointment in the world. He feels awful; his heart is singing a rather slow, melancholic song. Well he gets a sad moment from a drama. What was the score again? 

“Oh.” Baekhyun can’t manage to say anything else.

So he was wrong. Kris doesn’t like him. Baekhyun feels numb.

“But I do like you!!” Kris winces at how loud it came out to be. 

Baekhyun freezes. For all he knows Kris can continue that sentence with ‘as a friend’. Having Kris as a friend is good enough too. But his heart refuses to be stripped away from all hope.

“I do like you” He continues softly. “I’ve always liked you for a while now. Tagging along with Lu Han was…it was a win-win situation for the both of us. I didn’t know if you liked boys so I hadn’t mentioned anything until now. But yes. I like you. A lot.” 

Baekhyun can’t believe his ears. His heart is going to beat right out his chest if it keeps beating so hard. Kris must have mistaken his silence for rejection, just like Baekhyun had a few minutes ago and gets ready to take back his words.

“Oh, I know. I’m always right. I might like you too. I’ll think about letting you know after I’ve made you work for it.” He smiles slowly, eyes twinkling playfully. 

Kris reaches over for his hands and gives them a gentle squeeze. 

“Oh you’d be surprised at how hardworking I could get.”

 

-

 

Jongdae looks around his lunch table with as much distaste as he could muster. Chanyeol is busy ignoring his lunch in favor of texting someone. Jongin is being all gloom and doom, sitting beside him, and occasionally letting out loud sighs. Sehun is down with the flu and he didn’t attend classes that day. Then there’s Lu Han and Junmyeon, and Kris and Baekhyun being all lovey dovey in their own world. Tch. New couples. 

“I should have changed the terms and conditions of the bet. He didn’t even confess until you confronted him. Ugh! This is no fun. Mind me!!!!” he can only whine. 

He should have said yes to Amber when she invited him to lunch together. At least friends are happy. He can be happy about that, he decides with a smile.


End file.
